The House Commerce Committee will increase its focus on data security and cross-border data flows, said Vice Chairwoman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at a Technology Policy Institute event Jan. 15. The free flow of data between the U.S. and EU is important, as the two governments continue to negotiate the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), said Blackburn. “We would hope that it’s not a trade barrier,” she said. “But we are certainly aware that there is maybe a little bit of jealousy, if you will, with the encouragement to innovate here.”
The Finance Committee unanimously approved on Jan. 15 the nominations of Rhonda Schmidtlein to the U.S. International Trade Commission and Sarah Raskin to be deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, the committee said in a statement. The vote took place off the Senate floor, with Senator Pat Toomey, R-Pa., voting by proxy, said a committee spokesman.
Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) approval is critical for making progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, said Peter Robinson, CEO of the US Council of International Business (USCIB) in a speech to the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago. Senate Finance Committee leadership and House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., introduced TPA legislation on Jan. 9 (see 14011013).
The U.S. should recommit resources to border infrastructure in order to increase efficiency in cross border commerce with Canada and Mexico, said House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Chairman Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., at a Jan. 15 hearing titled “NAFTA at Twenty: Accomplishments, Challenges, and the Way Forward on Intellectual Property.” North American economies are poised for continued growth but insecure Mexican border regions and weak Canadian Intellectual Property (IP) rights protection, among other concerns, are impeding the achievement of maximum commercial potential, said Salmon.
CBP continues to fail to collect vast sums of potential revenue in import duties on certain Chinese agriculture and seafood products that entered the U.S. since 2002, along with associated bonds posted on the imports, said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., at the Jan. 15 Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Gil Kerlikowske for CBP Commissioner (see 14011521).
Recently introduced legislation that would provide for "fast track" approval of trade agreements would allow Congress to "abdicate" its role in such agreements, potentially putting the health of Americans at risk, a number of health groups said in a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives. If passed, the Trade Priorities Act of 2014, introduced Jan. 9 (see 14011013), would "set a dangerous standard for public health and for our democracy," said the groups, which include the American Public Health Association and Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health.
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation gave its approval for the nomination of Arun Kumar to be assistant secretary for Trade Promotion and director general of the Foreign Commercial Service at the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the committee said in a Jan. 13 press release. Committee officials also confirmed six other officials for posts throughout the Obama Administration. President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Kumar in early October (see 13100707).
Senate Finance Committee officials will vote on Jan. 15 Rhonda Schmidtlein's nomination as a member of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Finance officials will also vote on the nomination of Sarah Raskin for deputy secretary of the Treasury. Schmidtlein and Raskin testified before the Finance Committee on Nov. 20 (see 13112112). The votes will take place during a Finance hearing to consider the nomination of Gil Kerlikowske for CBP commissioner, along with two other nominations (see 14011304).
The U.S. surface transportation infrastructure is failing to keep pace with the global marketplace, said Stu Levenick, a Caterpillar group president, in testimony delivered to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 14 (here). The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, signed into law in 2012, improved federal surface transportation infrastructure efforts, but the legislation fails to enable U.S. companies to compete globally. "While other parts of the world are integrating and modernizing their infrastructure to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century, we are failing to act comprehensively and decisively," said Levenick, according to a Caterpillar press release (here). "Our transportation system is the backbone of our economy. However, we are relying on investments made decades ago to sustain our growing and changing economy. We must renew our commitment to this system if we are to ensure our nation's global competitiveness." Caterpillar exported over $22 billion in products from the U.S. in 2012, said Levenick.